IHMC team beats world’s best in robotics competition

Published: Thursday, July 4, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, July 4, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.

The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition recently took first place in the initial leg of the Virtual Robotics Challenge.

"This is a big win for our IMHC," institute co-founder and CEO Ken Ford said in prepared remarks. "Our team was up against some of the best and brightest scientists in the world and came out on top. We're very proud of our team."

Each year, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency challenges scientists to overcome major hurdles on the road to the next great leap forward. The challenge is to develop technology that allows for the use of advance humanoid robots at disaster sites, such as the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Officials hope to develop robots that can function at such sites without risking human life or limb — and which could be operated by anyone.

The DARPA Robotics Challenge has several parts. First was a virtual component, where competitors created software to power a robot on a screen.

Winners now move on to power an actual robot they either create or have provided for them through DARPA funding.

Many of the world's top tech incubators and powerhouses — the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lockheed Martin, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and Caltech to name a few of the 26 finalists from 126 applicants — have entered the competition.

Winners receive funding for further research.

IHMC's 22-member team had to write software to control a robot that might be required to assist humans in response to a disaster.

The tasks took place in a virtual suburban setting in a simulator created by DARPA.

The virtual robot had to:

Get into a small vehicle, drive it to a specific location and get out.

Walk across progressively more difficult terrain, including flat ground, a knee-deep mud pit, low hills and a debris field littered with cinder blocks.

Pick up a hose from a table, connect it to a spigot and turn the valve on.

The competition was spread over three days in June. The teams performed five simulation "runs" on each task, with slight changes in the details, such as the height of hills or how the debris was spread out.

During the simulation, it was not always smooth sailing; the robot had a little trouble driving and, when walking, fell down.

But team leader Jerry Pratt said this made it all "exhilarating." Up to 12 different people helped control the robot at different times, and the team members were well able to pick up their spirits — and their robot — and continue the simulation.

Pratt attributes some of the team success to making the competition fun.

"We treated it as research as well as a sporting event; since different operators moved different things, we held tryouts for the best one and held head-to head competitions in the lab," he said.

Another reason for IHMC's good showing was the cohesiveness and knowledge of the diverse team. Pratt and his co-leader, research associate Matt Johnson, organized a group consisting of IMHC employees as well as Pensacola high school interns, college students on break and members hired for specific expertise.

IHMC is based in Pensacola but has a branch research facility in the old library building in downtown Ocala.

IMHC officials had not participated in a competition of this type before, but this one was right up their alley.

According to their website: "IHMC researchers are on a quest to develop legged robots that are fast, efficient and graceful, with the mobility required to access many of the same places that humans can. Their research takes many forms, including biologically inspired hardware design, bipedal and quadrupedal walking, balance and push-recovery control algorithms and exoskeleton design and control."

Pratt has a doctorate in computer science. The focus of his research — 20 years worth of work — is biped locomotion.

In other words: the ability of robots to walk on two feet.

Going into the competition initially, the group was all feet and no hands. Many members took a "crash course" in robot manipulation. This was needed in particular for a task the group eventually performed well in: picking up a hose and attaching it to a spigot.

It was all the more difficult because a hose is flexible, so the robot, and its handlers, had to think on their feet as well as use their hands.

Other research that gave the team an edge was its work with interfaces: what the person operating the machine sees and works with, especially because the simulation robot had to be able to be operated by non-experts.

One innovation Pratt and IMHC are working on is allowing the operator to see the steps the robot undertakes before it performs the action. Think of it as a live broadcast delayed a few seconds to prevent illicit words or wardrobe malfunctions.

According to Pratt, "because you have no idea what the machine is thinking or how it will perform its functions … this will help prevent mistakes. And it fits our philosophy of helping machines and humans work together as teams."

The next phase of the competition is to use software in an actual robot provided by Boston Dynamics.

IMHC as well as the top eight virtual winners have been awarded $750,000 and the Boston Dynamics robot to program and use to complete additional, more difficult "real" tasks in December. Those tasks will include driving, crossing an obstacle-laden terrain, removing debris blocking an entry, opening a door, climbing a ladder, using a tool, closing a valve and replacing a component in a cooling pump.

The competition will heat up because IHMC is now going head to head (and feet and hands) with groups that have built their own robots.

<p>The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition recently took first place in the initial leg of the Virtual Robotics Challenge.</p><p>"This is a big win for our IMHC," institute co-founder and CEO Ken Ford said in prepared remarks. "Our team was up against some of the best and brightest scientists in the world and came out on top. We're very proud of our team."</p><p>Each year, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency challenges scientists to overcome major hurdles on the road to the next great leap forward. The challenge is to develop technology that allows for the use of advance humanoid robots at disaster sites, such as the Fukushima nuclear power plant.</p><p>Officials hope to develop robots that can function at such sites without risking human life or limb — and which could be operated by anyone.</p><p>The DARPA Robotics Challenge has several parts. First was a virtual component, where competitors created software to power a robot on a screen.</p><p>Winners now move on to power an actual robot they either create or have provided for them through DARPA funding.</p><p>Many of the world's top tech incubators and powerhouses — the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lockheed Martin, NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and Caltech to name a few of the 26 finalists from 126 applicants — have entered the competition.</p><p>Winners receive funding for further research.</p><p>IHMC's 22-member team had to write software to control a robot that might be required to assist humans in response to a disaster.</p><p>The tasks took place in a virtual suburban setting in a simulator created by DARPA.</p><p>The virtual robot had to:</p><p>Get into a small vehicle, drive it to a specific location and get out.</p><p>Walk across progressively more difficult terrain, including flat ground, a knee-deep mud pit, low hills and a debris field littered with cinder blocks.</p><p>Pick up a hose from a table, connect it to a spigot and turn the valve on.</p><p>The competition was spread over three days in June. The teams performed five simulation "runs" on each task, with slight changes in the details, such as the height of hills or how the debris was spread out.</p><p>During the simulation, it was not always smooth sailing; the robot had a little trouble driving and, when walking, fell down.</p><p>But team leader Jerry Pratt said this made it all "exhilarating." Up to 12 different people helped control the robot at different times, and the team members were well able to pick up their spirits — and their robot — and continue the simulation.</p><p>Pratt attributes some of the team success to making the competition fun.</p><p>"We treated it as research as well as a sporting event; since different operators moved different things, we held tryouts for the best one and held head-to head competitions in the lab," he said.</p><p>Another reason for IHMC's good showing was the cohesiveness and knowledge of the diverse team. Pratt and his co-leader, research associate Matt Johnson, organized a group consisting of IMHC employees as well as Pensacola high school interns, college students on break and members hired for specific expertise.</p><p>IHMC is based in Pensacola but has a branch research facility in the old library building in downtown Ocala.</p><p>IMHC officials had not participated in a competition of this type before, but this one was right up their alley.</p><p>According to their website: "IHMC researchers are on a quest to develop legged robots that are fast, efficient and graceful, with the mobility required to access many of the same places that humans can. Their research takes many forms, including biologically inspired hardware design, bipedal and quadrupedal walking, balance and push-recovery control algorithms and exoskeleton design and control."</p><p>Pratt has a doctorate in computer science. The focus of his research — 20 years worth of work — is biped locomotion.</p><p>In other words: the ability of robots to walk on two feet.</p><p>Going into the competition initially, the group was all feet and no hands. Many members took a "crash course" in robot manipulation. This was needed in particular for a task the group eventually performed well in: picking up a hose and attaching it to a spigot.</p><p>It was all the more difficult because a hose is flexible, so the robot, and its handlers, had to think on their feet as well as use their hands.</p><p>Other research that gave the team an edge was its work with interfaces: what the person operating the machine sees and works with, especially because the simulation robot had to be able to be operated by non-experts.</p><p>One innovation Pratt and IMHC are working on is allowing the operator to see the steps the robot undertakes before it performs the action. Think of it as a live broadcast delayed a few seconds to prevent illicit words or wardrobe malfunctions.</p><p>According to Pratt, "because you have no idea what the machine is thinking or how it will perform its functions … this will help prevent mistakes. And it fits our philosophy of helping machines and humans work together as teams."</p><p>The next phase of the competition is to use software in an actual robot provided by Boston Dynamics.</p><p>IMHC as well as the top eight virtual winners have been awarded $750,000 and the Boston Dynamics robot to program and use to complete additional, more difficult "real" tasks in December. Those tasks will include driving, crossing an obstacle-laden terrain, removing debris blocking an entry, opening a door, climbing a ladder, using a tool, closing a valve and replacing a component in a cooling pump.</p><p>The competition will heat up because IHMC is now going head to head (and feet and hands) with groups that have built their own robots.</p><p>Pratt said he and his team are "looking forward to the challenge."</p>